Find the Best Silent Retreats 2018/2019

Looking for a place to truly focus on yourself? Strip yourself of the everyday distractions and reconnect with your innermost self.

And let us take you there.

If you’re looking for affordable silent retreats then scroll through until you see one at a price you like. (There are plenty to choose from.)

Go ahead. Take the time to take care of deep inner work.

5 Reasons Why You Need to go on a Silent Retreat

Silence doesn't always come easily, especially not in the age of immediacy and constant entertainment. In fact, I think it's safe to say that not many people even want to be surrounded by silence.

The problem?

It is absolutely critical to our health and well-being. It's true! (But more on that later in #1 and #3).

Silent retreats may sound extreme, but it won't feel all that strange. You probably won't even notice it, to be honest. While each retreat center is different, they will all likely offer similar retreat schedules, with activities like mindfulness meditation, daily yoga, or nature walks. As you go deeper into your meditation practice and your yoga practice, you will naturally immerse yourself in a sweet silence that is hard to find these days.

And that is where the magic happens.

As you strip away all the distractions from life and develop healthier coping mechanisms, you finally have time to get to know yourself. Your true self that is deep within, the one that has been there all along. Sometimes this can be a bit scary and some of us don't really like what we see, but that is where the real work begins.

In order to get there, where all that inner work happens, you need to take care of a few things first. Here are five ways a mindfulness meditation retreat can help you take care of those things:

1. Learn how to use Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) techniques for your everyday life

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is a technique that was created by Jon Kabat-Zinn to help patients with chronic pain. His goal was to objectify the pain by removing any meaning from it. Through various mindfulness techniques and a steady mindfulness meditation practice, he argued, patients would report experiencing less pain regardless of medication.

And he was right!

The idea is to slow down our reactions to the world. By bringing focus to the present, down to the moment, we are better able to guide our reactions to certain situations. In the case of pain management, patients learned how to understand the pain and view it as a separate and totally logical entity. By stripping it of its meaning and removing themselves from the pain, intellectually, they were able to reduce their perceived pain in the moment.

The same can be true for any stimulus. If you have ever stubbed your toe, for example, you likely reacted to the pain signals that are delivered to your brain without taking a moment to detach yourself from those signals. As a result, you become flooded with pain and maybe heavy panting and a little bit of groaning, right? According to the principles of MBSR, the key is in slowing down the process between the stimulus (stubbed toe) and your response (panting and groaning). By intellectualizing an experience like this, you are able to remove a lot of the power it has over you.

While it is doubtful that a meditation center will offer full MBSR training, it will undoubtedly draw inspiration from it. In small, digestible lessons you will be able to learn MBSR-based techniques that you can take back with you to your daily life.

This is not necessarily the focus of a silent retreat but it most definitely will have some overlapping themes. By attending a silent retreat or working with a silent group, you are allowing yourself the opportunity to take control of your responses to all those super annoying things back home, like your annoying coworker, your teething child, or your peculiar MIL.

2. Get some spiritual direction

Life is messy. Super messy. When you're young, it seems pretty straight-forward and totally doable. But then things start coming at you from all directions, jumbling up both your path and your mind. Before you even reach your 30th birthday, you venture so far off of your path that you may even be lost. (You thought that only happened to you? No, fam. It happens to lots of us.)

A silent retreat can help you get back on track. Whether it's a group retreat, a day retreat, or even just a nice little workshop, you can learn a few tips on how to get back in touch with that inner-being you lost years ago. This can come by way of some kind of God presence or a beautiful self-realization fellowship. Whatever the case may be, taking a step off of the convoluted path that you're on and taking time to go back within can help you get your ish back on track. Discover your true nature by pursuing a spiritual practice that is good for you. Whether it is with a daily sitting meditation or a whole lot of prayer, the path is yours to discover.

Very few of us, I can promise you that. Even a tech-free zone is likely run by some kind of technology. Even a hike in the woods comes with smartphones attached to our hips and drones overhead.

Technology is making is lazier, less patient, and all kinds of crazy. So for your health and well-being, and the health and well-being of your loved ones, give yourself a serious break.

Take the time not to talk so much. Get to know your true nature. Try meditating seriously. Be mindful more often.

Reconnect with your divine self as nature intended and let your brain stretch for a bit. I don't know you but I'm fairly certain that every fiber of your being will let out a collective sigh as you step away from technology and into nature.

4. Deepen your yoga and meditation practice

This is pretty straight-forward, but it's probably the *main* reason why you are on this page, to begin with. Head to a weekend retreat or a center for mindfulness to help you hone your meditation skills. Learn more about vipassana meditation and how to practice vipassana in your daily life. Head to yoga class and learn how to apply all of your mindfulness skills on the mat, too. Now that will really be a game-changer for your yoga practise. Though yoga and meditation go hand in hand, many often overlook them as separate practices. Guided meditations off the mat can help improve your yoga postures on the mat. It helps by making your more mindful of the yoga postures as you move between them.

And don't worry: most yoga and meditation retreats will have a meditation teacher to help guide you.

5. Get a life-changing experience

Anytime you treat yourself and teach yourself how to live a better life, it will be a life-changing experience. The phrase itself says it all! There really is no way that a silent retreat can't change your life ;)

Popular Silent Retreats

We have so many retreats to choose from, but these are the most popular kinds at the moment...

...maybe Oregon knows something that we don't about being silent?

Silent Meditation Retreats

Many people look for an opportunity to deeply improve their meditation practice while on silent retreats. This way, major distractions are eliminated and you have nothing to focus on but the work. Many silent meditation retreats will include a fairly strict daily schedule and code of conduct. Most will serve only vegetarian meals and will provide periods of free time for you to explore your meditation practice on your own. Some may include a meditation teacher to help you improve your meditation technique. If you are interested in joining this kind of silent meditation retreat, then it is best to have some experience meditating beforehand. Check out some of the meditation retreats to see if any of them fit your style. You will be surprised at the wisdom that you gain through this kind of retreat.

Retreats Near Oregon

This is a super specific trend that is happening, but it seems like this trend is onto something. The Pacific Northwest is the perfect setting for a silent retreat with nothing but awe-inspiring nature to gaze at. You could even head down to California for some popular spiritual retreats. Oregon provides the perfect landscape for a walking meditation, where you can let your body explore the woods and your mind explores what that experience is like. You don't necessarily need a teacher for a walking meditation, though it would be helpful to receive meditation instruction prior to taking your mindfulness practice outdoors.

Mindfulness Meditation Retreat

Developing a healthy mindfulness meditation practice can more easily be achieved on a silent mindfulness meditation retreat. Look for a meditation center that offers a daily meditation session so that you can learn to take the practice back to your everyday life. Whether you choose a private retreat or a silent group retreat, you can still experience profound personal growth during your silent retreat. Pro tip: If you're looking for serious change that you can take back to your everyday life, look for a retreat house that offers Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction MBSR.

Silent Spiritual Retreat

For those of you who are seeking a spiritual experience, a silent spiritual retreat can offer a transformative experience. You can incorporate prayer into your daily meditation session and foster your own God presence with each prayer. Gain some spiritual direction in your life with the help of a seasoned spiritual director. Whether you book with a Jesuit Retreat House or an Ignatian Spirituality Center, you can do the work on your own silent spiritual retreat. Whether you study the teachings of the Bible or you work independently to go deeper in your spiritual practice, a silent spiritual retreat can be life-changing.

Vipassana Retreat

Vipassana meditation, or insight meditation, is a powerful type of meditation that teaches students to become aware of the truth. The truth is not some deep, subjective understanding of the other world, but an understanding of the way things are happening around you. Vipassana meditation sessions are meant to help you not be so reactive to life's situations. Instead, you walk away from the meditation hall with a renewed sense of self and reality. A Vipassana retreat is intense, though, so get ready. It lasts about 10 days and practices noble silence, which prohibits you from communicating with others. It is meant to introduce you to this type of meditation technique so that you can go back into your daily life with the tools necessary to keep a calm mind. This type of silent meditation retreat is one of the most profound you can experience. The retreat center does not accept payment except in the form of donations. You can find other retreats that offer daily meditation sessions with a Vipassana focus, but if it charges guests or does not practice noble silence, then it is not a true Vipassana retreat. It is often called "insight meditation" because of the mindfulness practice of building awareness through your everyday activities. It also includes a loving kindness focus, which extends the good feelings and wishes to all living things. For meditation instruction, it is a good idea to become familiar with the practice of meditation beforehand. This will better prepare you for the intense mindfulness practice that you experience during a Vipassana retreat.